1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to catalytically-active metallic glasses, process of producing such metallic glasses and process of using such metallic glasses.
2. Prior Art
Certain amorphous metal alloys catalyze hydrogenation reactions, for example, those of cyclohexene derivatives [G. V. Smith et al., J. of Catalysis 83 (1983) 238] or of carbon monoxide (i.e., Fisher-Tropsch Reaction) [A. Yokoyama et al., Chemistry Letters (1983), 195]. The catalytic action is based on the amorphous state of the metals. However, it has also been described that in the case of the system Pd.sub.80 Si.sub.20, no significant differences exist concerning the selectivity in the case of hydrogenation reactions between the amorphous state and the crystalline state [B. Giessen et al., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., (1982), Vol. 18, 255].
In the case of most examinations, the surfaces and the state of order of the catalysts consisting of amorphous metals have not been investigated sufficiently, so that the comparison between amorphous and crystalline systems is not of any significant meaning. It turned out, for example, that the catalytical effectiveness could not be deduced because of a lack of knowledge of the connections between amorphous and crystalline systems.